Overview

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces carried out a lethal strike in international waters off Venezuela, killing four people he labeled “narcoterrorists,” with no U.S. casualties reported.
• The Pentagon and President Trump posted video of the blast, and the operation brings reported deaths from similar Caribbean strikes since September to roughly 21.
• The administration has notified Congress that the U.S. is in a non‑international armed conflict with drug cartels and deems cartel members unlawful combatants.
• Regional pushback intensified as Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro called the latest strike an assassination and Venezuela denounced the action and mobilized forces.
• Media accounts note the Pentagon has not provided independently verifiable evidence or identities for those targeted, even as officials vow the strikes will continue.